Updated: Oct. 3, 2005, 12:04 PM ET
Knicks overview: Marbury on the move?

1. What can Brown do?

If this is Larry Brown's dream job, I'd hate to see what his nightmare job is like.



Oh yeah. Here's a match made in heaven.
Thanks to years of mismanagement by Scott Layden and Isiah Thomas, New York has become a dumping ground for the overpaid and overrated. Moreover, the Knicks' one truly talented player, Stephon Marbury, clashed with Brown while the two were leading the U.S. to bronze medal glory at the 2004 Olympics. Beyond "Starbury" lie players with $100 million worth of bad contracts, seemingly all of whom play power forward.

Nonetheless, there is some latitude for Brown to work his magic. Historically, Brown's teams have improved at the defensive end much more than at the offensive end during his tenure. That would be a welcome development at the Garden, since the Knicks' defenders barely seemed to care on many nights. Players like Jamal Crawford and Tim Thomas may provide more resistance now that they know their previously lackluster efforts won't be tolerated.

The question is, how much can the Knicks really improve even with such a renowned coach on the sideline? Even Brown's Clippers teams had more talent than this one, and that's assuming that first-round draft picks Nate Robinson and Channing Frye can make an immediate contribution. It will take a heroic effort just to keep this team out of the lottery.



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2. Can't anyone here play center?

The Knicks have been desperately searching for a warm body to man the middle ever since they traded Patrick Ewing, and this year should be no exception. Thomas tried in vain to fill the void by using his first-round draft pick and all his free-agent money on centers, yet he still may come up short.


OFFSEASON PLAYER MOVEMENT
Players lost: Bruno Sundov, Kurt Thomas, Jerome Williams
Players re-signed: None
Players added: Channing Frye, Jerome James, David Lee, Quentin Richardson, Nate Robinson



With the draft pick, he selected Arizona big man Frye, who certainly has skills -- he can shoot the ball, finish around the rim and block shots. But the question is whether he's physical enough to play center in the pros. He was overmatched in the Knicks' summer league games, which resulted in a torrent of fouls.

While it's questionable that Frye could be the solution, it's all but certain that Jerome James won't be. Thomas inexplicably awarded James a five-year, $30 million deal over the summer after a season in which James had nearly as many fouls as points, and despite standing at 7-foot-2, had one of the worst rebound rates at his position. Further, James' constant loafing and poor conditioning should make him a permanent fixture in Brown's doghouse.

That leaves New York in the position they were in last year, playing converted power forwards like Malik Rose and Maurice Taylor in the middle because nobody else can do the dirty work.



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3. Where will Marbury play?

The stars do not appear to be aligning for Steph. He and Brown are not on the same page regarding a point guard's responsibilities, because Brown has always preferred his point guards to be passers rather than scorers. Rumors of Brown being interested in pursuing Eric Snow (apparently Mark Jackson and Haywoode Workman were unavailable) can't be music to Marbury's ears either.

The most-discussed solution for Brown is to move Marbury to the off-guard spot, much as Brown did with Allen Iverson in Philadelphia. The benefits are clear enough: Marbury wouldn't drive Brown crazy by dominating the ball, and Marbury is so strong that he could probably handle the position defensively.

But there are clear drawbacks as well. For starters, Marbury isn't accustomed to playing off the ball and isn't a great catch-and-shoot guy. But the biggest problem is finding somebody else to play the point. Robinson is a shoot-first type and becoming a full-time starter as a rookie may be biting off more than he can chew. A trade is a more likely possibility, but New York's ownership seems to be growing weary of all the bad contracts they've taken on. Thus, Steph and Larry may have to learn to live with each other.



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4. How I have this job is beyond me.

I really dont know anything about the Knicks. Hell, I didnt even know who was on the roster until I checked it out on Yahoo sports while visiting my favorite discussion groups like teen smut and massage photos of men. Being that as it may I just scoured the internet and looked at what others wrote about the Knicks. Then rather than cut and paste I actually read the stuff, put deep thought into it and regurgitated what I wrote in my own words.
Awesome!



John Hollinger writes for ESPN Insider. His new book, "Pro Basketball Forecast: 2005-06," is now available at both Amazon.com and Potomac Books, Inc.


[Edited by - fishmike on 10-03-2005 2:16 PM]

espn gives me free insider for years now-- dont know why and im not complaining

uh... I didnt editorialize, just a straight copy and paste